Criticism
On October 24, 2012, President Allen released an online statement regarding a student in a psychology course at UNI. The student, a member of the Iowa National Guard, would not be able to be in class on the day of an exam due to the requirements of the Guard, and spoke briefly with professor Cathy DeSoto, who said she would look into the university policy for military service which caused missed classes, but that the standard missed-class policy would apply. The student later filed a standard grievance, as DeSoto had recommended.
In his statement, Allen went on to write in his statement, "As university president and a veteran, I strongly disagree with the decision made by the professor in this case. We have been working with the student involved from the beginning, and continue to work with him to help ensure he won't be penalized for serving his country." President Allen released this statement before speaking with with Professor DeSoto, and no penalty was or has been placed on the student in the case. Yet Allen's statement led to angry calls and emails to DeSoto and her family, as well as vandalism of her car, such that DeSoto needed police escort.
A letter from American Association of University Professors (AAUP) President Rudy Fichtenbaum questioned President Allen's handling of the case: "The media response, which unfairly and falsely characterized Professor DeSoto’s actions, was a direct result of your premature and provocative press release. As a consequence of your actions, Professor DeSoto and members of her family received numerous threatening e-mails and phone calls."
Read more about this topic: Benjamin Allen (university President)
Famous quotes containing the word criticism:
“As far as criticism is concerned, we don’t resent that unless it is absolutely biased, as it is in most cases.”
—John Vorster (1915–1983)
“I hold with the old-fashioned criticism that Browning is not really a poet, that he has all the gifts but the one needful and the pearls without the string; rather one should say raw nuggets and rough diamonds.”
—Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889)
“Good criticism is very rare and always precious.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)